Media devices, such as a set top box, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a notepad, a stereo, a radio, a television, a computer system, a game system, or the like, are often configured to present audio content. The audio content is received in a content stream communicated from a remote source to the media device via a content delivery system. The received audio content is processed and is then communicated to a sound reproducing device, such as a speaker, headphone or the like. The particular source of the audio content is specified by a user who is listening to the audio content.
The audio content typically comprises a series of individual songs. A song is a composition of music performed by one or more artists who may be singing and/or playing a musical instrument. The song has a discernible beginning and an end. Thus, a stream of audio content comprises a series of songs, where a next song begins after a conclusion of a previous song. There may be intervening commentary by a person or intervening commercial advertisements or messages disposed between songs of the audio content, such as typically encountered in a broadcast audio content medium.
Audio content sources include any provider of audio content. A non-limiting example of an audio content provider is a radio station that broadcasts audio content over the air to a media device. Here, the audio content delivery system employs over-the-air wireless signals that are detected by a radio frequency (RF) tuner, such as typically found in a radio or the like.
The audio content may be communicated using other audio content delivery systems. For example, but not limited to, a satellite system may broadcast audio and/or video content in a satellite signal that is received by the media device. As another example, the audio content may be communicated over cable system using a wire-based signal. In yet another example, the audio content may be communicated from a web site to the media device 102 via the Internet, or may be communicated to the media device via a wireless system the employs a cellular phone signal and/or a Wi-Fi signal.
Other exemplary audio content delivery systems may include an electronic device that is communicatively coupled to the media device. Here, the electronic device accesses the audio content from a memory medium. For example, but not limited to, the audio content may be communicated to the media device from a digital video recorder (DVR) player or a compact disc (CD) player that is playing a CD, DVD, or the like. As another example, a flash memory device may be accessing previously stored audio content that has been saved into the flash memory. Other examples include audio content provided by a record player (playing a record) or a cassette tape player (playing a cassette tape).
In some situations, the user may wish to listen to a constantly changing variety of audio content. CD players have been devised to provide a random and constantly changing stream of audio content, referred to as “shuffling” in the arts. Here, a plurality of CDs reside in the CD player. The CDs are shuffled in and out of the CD optical reader component of the CD player so that a continuing and changing stream of individual songs, in their entirety, are played to the user. Some embodiments may select songs at random from the different CDs. Alternatively, songs may be selected in a predefined order from the different CDs.
As another example, “shuffling” of songs may be implemented when a single source of audio content is providing the audio content. For example, a web site or the like may have a large repository of individual songs. Songs from the repository can be selected in a manner that emulates shuffling. The “shuffled” series of songs may then be communicated to the user's media device 102 for presentation to the user.
However, there is no practical way to provide shuffling of audio content from a plurality of broadcasting audio content providers in a manner that plays songs in their entirety. Radios are known to have a “shuffle” function wherein the radio periodically changes its tuning from one broadcasting station to another broadcasting station. However, only a currently broadcasting individual song can be presented to the user who is listening to their radio. When the radio shuffles (re-tunes) to a new broadcasting radio station, the radio can only present the currently broadcasting audio content that the radio is currently tuned to. Thus, it is likely that the currently broadcasted song has already started prior to the re-tuning to that broadcasting radio station such that the user can only listen to a concluding portion of the currently broadcasting song. Here, the user is unable to listen to the song in its entirety (since the initial portion of the song has already been broadcasted by the radio station).
Accordingly, there is a need in the arts to provide systems and methods of improved shuffling of audio content.